A new community 1960 - present

This map reveals the emergence of the area as we know it. New industries, the demise of farming and the formation of suburbs are significant. So, too, are the success of wine and the moulding of modern tourism along coasts and inland.

Since 1960 large areas of farming land were developed for housing as suburban Adelaide spread south. While agriculture continued strongly in certain areas, other industries have taken precedence. At Port Stanvac and Lonsdale industrial and manufacturing enterprises displaced livestock and crops. World-renowned companies began from this base and exported their products around the globe.

Even though land use altered, farming methods in other parts changed with the times. There were new approaches to agriculture. The wine industry was one example of this. Buoyed by export growth it expanded rapidly, extending into former farming areas. Tourism, drawn by the wine as well as magnificent beaches and natural resources, flourished.

As farmland receded and suburbs evolved, local government altered. Rural and urban councils combined resources and in 1997 the City of Onkaparinga formed from the three local governments of The City of Happy Valley, the City of Noarlunga and most of the District Council of Willunga. Based at Noarlunga Centre, it has built on a diverse heritage of people and industries to oversee South Australia ’s largest local government area.